Chair and method for making same



June 1967 R. L. WHITENER ETAL 3,328,084

CHAIR AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 11, 1965INVENTORS Will 7' E IVE I? R0 Y L. WH/TENEI? MURL E.

ATTORNEY June 27, 1967 R. 1.. WHITENER ETAL 3,328,084

CHAIR AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed Aug. 11, 1965 2 Sheets$heet 2.ll' lllll' INVENTORS MURL E. WHITENER ROY L. WHITE/ ER ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,328,084 CHAIR AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Roy .L.Whitener and Murl E. Whitener, both of Hickory, N.C. 28601 Filed Aug.11, 1965, Ser. No. 478,926 2 Claims. (Cl. 297445) This invention relatesto a chair and method for making same. More particularly, this inventionrelates to a chair constructed of fewer pieces than heretofore possibleand the method for fabricating such a chair.

Chairs in the past have been constructed of a considerable number ofsmall pieces of wood which are tediously hand-finished and fitted andsecured together in order to form the wood base or frame upon whichupholstering material and seat cushions and the like may be secured. Itwill be appreciated that in the production of such chairs a considerableamount of hand labor is necessary in order to achieve the final product.Consequently, the utilization of larger units in the fabrication of achair will obviously result in a chair being produced in a moreeconomical manner.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to disclosean ingenious method for fabricating a chair.

It is another object of the present invention to disclose a chairconstructed of a relatively few number of pieces.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in reading the following description in conjunction with thedrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the chair of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary close-up of a portion of the chair of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along lines 4-4 ofFIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 illustrates in a top plan view the method for applying the backto the chair of the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional, fragmentary view of a portion of thechair showing the back as fitted in; and,

FIGURE 7 is like FIGURE 6 showing another embodiment in the insertion ofthe back.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Alsoit is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not limitation.

Now, turning to the drawings, attention is specifically directed toFIGURE 1 which shows the wood frame of the chair generally 11 and FIGURE2 which shows generally a chair 12 having another configuration.

In particular, the features of the present invention reside in theutilization of laminated wood in constructing the large U-shapedelements 13, 14, and 15. Element 15 comprises the main unit upon which aseat cushion and the like may be secured. Element 14 comprises, ofcourse, the back rest and side portions, while element 13 is an arm restand a back rest. The chair has a front cross piece 16 and front legs 17and 18. Legs 17 and 18 terminate somewhat flush with the upper portionof element 15.

The chair 11 also has rear legs 19 and 20. These rear legs extend aboveelements 15 and 14 and are mortised in a suitable manner with respect toelements 14 and 15. They terminate on the underside portion of element13 in a conventional manner. It will be appreciated that the legs 17 and18, cross piece 16, and legs 19 and 20 are of conventional structure. Inthe prior art chairs, the elements 13, 14 and are broken down intoseparable units extending, for instance, in connection with element 15from leg 17 to leg and then another unit would be utilized extendingfrom leg 20 to leg 19 and finally from leg 19 all the way back to thefront and leg 18. Similarly, elements 14 and 13 would be broken downinto three pieces extending from uprights 21 around to upright 22.

In the instant invention, the modification resides in the utilization oflaminated U-shaped elements 13, 14, and 15 which are suitably bent intothe U-shaped elements seen.

Regarding the embodiment shown in FIGURE 2, it will be noted that onlyone U-shaped element 23 is necessary to join at each end with legs 24and 25. Inasmuch as the back rest does not sweep around to also becomeas arm rest at the sides thereof, only a single back rest 27 isnecessary terminating with legs 28 and 29, the rear legs.

Additional braces may be employed in connection with both embodiments asat 31.

Of prime interest also to the present invention is the ingenious methodfor adding a web backing which may be of cane material to the side andback of the chair of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1. To accomplishthis satisfactorily, a groove 40 is cut into elements 13 and 14 andportions of uprights 21 and 22 as can be seen from FIGURE 1. The canematerial is applied in the area defined by the groove.

To illustrate this, attention is directed to FIGURE 3 which shows theleft-hand side of the chair of FIGURE 1 and shows a portion of the cane33 whose edges terminate in the groove 34 (not shown) inasmuch as a woodwedge 35 has been also inserted in the groove to retain the cane inposition. The application of the cane to the grooves in the chair isalso of considerable ingenuity.

FIGURE 4 shows the result of the cane 33 in position. It will be notedthat from this cross-sectional view groove is filled with the wedge 35and a portion 36 of the cane which has been bent approximatelyperpendicular to the surface of the cane 33. Suitable adhesive may alsobe included to secure the wedge cane portion 36 to the groove 40.

For an understanding of the manner in which the cane is applied to thegrooves, attention is directed to FIG- URE 5. The chair'having theframework as in FIGURE 1 is positioned to receive an expandablesectional male die member on which has been located sufficientlymoistened cane webbing of a size approximately the dimension necessary.The moistened cane is held by the male member 50 and then is moveddownwardly between the U- shaped members 13 and 14 and is positioned sothat, as the expandable portions 53 and 54 of the die member 50 expand,suitable flanges 51 carrying the cane 33 carry forward the peripheraledge portion of cane 33 into the groove 40 as is desired which is thenfollowed by suitable wedging with wood portion 35.

To illustrate two of a number of ways in which the cane 33 is carried,attention is directed to FIGURES 6 and 7. In FIGURE 6 the die member 50is shown carrying the web 33 (in dotted lines) and as the die member 50is moved towards the element 13, for instance, due to flange 51, itcarries the already bent cane into the groove after which the malemember may be withdrawn leaving the cane in position for receipt ofadhesive and the wedge 35.

For a more secure fit, it will be noted from FIGURE 7 that the canematerial is not bent in the same manner as in the above embodiment, butextends across from flange to flange 51 in the wet condition (as seen indotted lines in FIGURE 7). As the die is moved in the direction ofelements 13 and 14, the flange 51 carries the web into the groove andbends it as shown in FIGURE 7 and, naturally, a portion of the cane notonly fills the side of the groove but also fills a portion of the bottomof the groove so that when secured with adhesive and the wedge it istightly mounted in position.

It will be appreciated that the die member 50 must have side expansiblemembers 53 and 54 in order to move the web of cane material 33 into theside of elements 13 and 14. This can be accomplished by having a fixedlower unit 55 and pivotable units 53 and 54 of die 50. Suitable linkagemeans can be seen to show lateral movement of elements 53 and 54 of thedie by further pushing on rod 56 which through appropriate linkage means57 and 58 pushes apart elements 53 and 54 of die 50, moving the wettedcane secured thereabout into the grooves as is necessary.

It will be appreciated that by employing laminated constructionconsiderable time is saved and at the same time a fantastic strengthcharacteristic is built int-o the chair which resists breaking andcannot be broken apart into its individual pieces inasmuch as elements13, 14, and 15 are constructed of solid laminate units.

It will be apparent that many changes and modifications of the severalfeatures described herein may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. It is therefore apparent that the foregoingdescription is by way of illustration of the invention rather thanlimitation of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A chair comprising a U-shaped seat carrying member, said seatcarrying member being constructed of bent laminated wood, cross-piecemeans connecting substantially the end portions of said U-shaped member,front legs depending from said crosspiece member, rear legs dependingfrom said U-shaped member and in spaced relationship to the front legsand to each other, said rear legs extending above said U-shaped member,a second U-shaped member connecting said portion of said rear legsextending above said seat carrying member, said second U-shaped memberapproximately parallel with said seat member and constructed of bentlaminated wood, a third U-shaped member approximately mounted withrespect to said rear legs intermediate the seat carrying member and saidsecond U-shaped member, a groove in said second and third U-shapedmember for receiving a backing, a backing, said backing bridging saidsecond and third U-shaped members and terminating in said groove.

2. A chair as set forth in claim 1 wherein said backing is cane webbing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 95,491 10/1869 Lapham 297-445134,545 1/ 1873 Heywood 29744O 1,555,377 9/1925 Knoll 297-418 X1,674,375 6/1928 Patton 297-445 X 1,864,477 6/1932 Stannard 29--91.12,649,136 8/1953 Eames 297-452 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,095,296 5/ 1955France.

34,352 6/1905 Switzerland.

OTHER REFERENCES Publication: The Architectural Forum Magazine, pages 12to 14, ZO/Plywood Digest, March 1944.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner.

1. A CHAIR COMPRISING A U-SHAPED SEAT CARRYING MEMBER, SAID SEATCARRYING MEMBER BEING CONSTRUCTED OF BENT LAMINATED WOOD, CROSS-PIECEMEANS CONNECTING SUBSTANTIALLY THE END PORTIONS OF SAID U-SHAPED MEMBER,FRONT LEGS DEPENDING FROM SAID CROSSPIECE MEMBER, REAR LEGS DEPENDINGFROM SAID U-SHAPED MEMBER AND IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO THE FRONT LEGSAND TO EACH OTHER, SAID REAR LEGS EXTENDING ABOVE SAID U-SHAPED MEMBER,A SECOND U-SHAPED MEMBER CONNECTING SAID PORTION OF SAID REAR LEGSEXTENDING ABOVE SAID SEAT CARRYING MEMBER, SAID SECOND U-SHAPED MEMBERAPPROXIMATELY PARALLEL WITH SAID SEAT MEMBER AND CONSTRUCTED OF BENTLAMINATED WOOD, A THIRD U-SHAPED MEMBER APPROXIMATELY MOUNTED WITHRESPECT TO SAID REAR LEGS INTERMEDIATE THE SEAT CARRYING MEMBER AND SAIDSECOND U-SHAPED MEMBER, A GROOVE